About Us

Honorary President: Professor Peter Simkins MBE, BA (London), FRHistS

Chairman: Peter Gill

The Cheltenham and Gloucester Branch of The Western Front Association was founded by Peter Gill and its inaugural meeting was held on 3 October 2006.

Since then we have held meetings on the second Tuesday of every month at the National Star College in Cheltenham. We have hosted a wide variety of speakers from all over the country including such eminent historians and authors as Professor Richard Holmes CBE, Professor Peter Simkins MBE, Martin Middlebrook, Peter Hart, Andy Robertshaw and Dr David Kenyon.

We occasionally hold our meetings in other venues. We have been the guests of the King’s School, Gloucester and the Soldiers of Gloucestershire Museum.

For our current programme of talks and directions to our venue, please visit our Meetings Page

In addition to our talks, we arrange other events and visits. In August 2007 we hosted the première of the play "Talbot House - A home from home", which is now on national tour.

We have organised branch visits to the Imperial War Museum, London, the Fovant Badges in Wiltshire and a group travelled to London for a Walking the London Blitz day with a guide from Battle Honours.

Our first Branch trip was in October 2008, when a group visited Ypres and the surrounding area. We followed in the footsteps of ex-King's School pupil and poet Will Harvey, his brother Eric (MC and Bar) and the Gloucestershire Regiment on the Salient. We were honoured to take part in the Last Post Ceremony at the Menin Gate where three of our members laid a wreath on behalf of the branch.

Since then we have run a trip to the Western Front every year and you can read aboiut them, and our other visits on our Branch Trips Page.

The Cheltenham & Gloucester Branch set up a Gloucestershire War Graves Project. This is a long-term project to seek out, and where possible, have a volunteer ‘adopter’ for all the Great War-related war graves in Gloucestershire.

View the Gloucestershire War Graves Project page

For our data protection policy please click here